Recently, I found a marriage record for which I had been looking for a long time. My great-grandparents, George and Ursula Bellan were Croatian immigrants who immigrated to the U.S. in 1893 and 1898, respectively. My great-grandmother indicated on her 1898 passenger ship manifest that she was going to her 'husband,' but the 1900 U.S. Census indicated that they had only been married 1 1/2 years.

So which one was correct? Had they been married in Croatia before George left for America, or did they wait until Ursula arrived in America? Well, a couple of years ago, I visited the Cuyahoga County Archives in Cleveland, Ohio, and they were NOT able to find a county marriage record for George and Ursula. The researcher did warn me that there may have been just a church wedding, so it may not have been recorded at the county level.

Recently, I conducted a search for the record on FamilySearch.org, and wouldn't you believe it, there was the record, nice and indexed for me plain as day! It always pays to go back and look at databases you've already searched! Here is the record (click for larger image):

The wedding took place on 29 May 1892 in Podstene, Primorje-Gorski Kotar, Croatia. Juraj, son of Franjo and Rozalija Beljan, was 19 years old and resided in Sela, Brod Moravice. Ursula, daughter of Mate and Ursula Benički, was 18 years old and from Doluš. The witnesses were Miko Brajdić and Anton Benički. Anton was probably Ursula's uncle. Brajdić was the maiden name of Juraj's mom, so Miko is likely a maternal uncle or cousin of Juraj.

Earlier this week, my four year old daughter and I were doing a craft that involved looking at photos of ancestors. We were cutting them out, preparing them to paste onto paper hearts, when we get to this one, a photo of my great-great-grandfather, Bernardo Licciardi:

So, as with all the other photos, I tell her who it is, but (in her silly voice) she says to me, "That's the Lorax." Many of you probably know that the Lorax is a Dr. Seuss character. We've read the book, we've watched the movie, and my daughter even painted a little paper Lorax at preschool. And now she's decided that her great-great-great-grandfather is a Lorax doppelganger. I gotta say, I can't argue with her.

On this date in 1925, my husband's paternal grandfather, Walter Schroeder was born. He is the only son of Anthony and Leona (Knob) Schroeder and he was born in the very small rural community of St. Patricks in Shelby County, Ohio. Here is his short birth announcement from the 13 Feb 1925 edition of The Minster Post:

Walter Schroeder Birth Announcement (25 Feb 1925, The Minster Post)

Walter, who acquired the nickname 'Chub' early on in his life, was the third of five children born to Anthony and Leona. He had four sisters, all of whom have passed away. On 26 Aug 1944 in the nearby town of McCartyville, he married Naomi Grilliot, daughter of Bernard O. Grilliot and Frances Drees. They have six children together, an Naomi also celebrated her 90th birthday this past December.

Here are a few of photos from his 90th birthday celebration. His love of cake hasn't diminished with age!

Walter's birthday cake

Loves the cake! (Who doesn't?)

Walter and Naomi with their daughter, Nancy

Walter's parents, Anthony and Leona, were both grandchildren of German immigrants who settled in western Ohio in the mid-19th century. To learn more about Walter's ancestors, click on the links below.